The Fed Should Re-Evaluate the Durbin Amendment, Says Compliance Officer

In a viewpoint for paybefore.com, Wendy Harp-Lewis, chief compliance officer for InteliSpend Prepaid Solutions says that the Federal Reserve should offer expanded exclusions for prepaid products from the provisions of the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act because the increased costs and decreased revenues for prepaid will hurt the cardholders and damage the economy.

In the Meantime, keeping prepaid cards tied to the same regulations as debit cards will likely hurt the very people lawmakers are seeking to help. This isn’t what the drafters of the law and the champions of consumers rights intended. Our industry needs to work as a whole to persuade the Fed that the prepaid market future hinges upon this legislation. The Durbin Amendment truly deserves a second look.

The prepaid industry is under considerable pressure from regulation. While Mercator has heard that some legislators have called upon the Fed to re-examine prepaid regulations, it remains to be seen whether that will happen. The industry will need to remain alert and nimble to respond to all the potential changes that could come its way.

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